How to Clean a Flat Stove Top and Keep it Shiny for Life

I have a love-hate relationship with flat stove tops. They’re smooth. They’re sleek. They cook fast. But they can often seem impossible to keep clean!

After years of owning a flat stop top, I think I’ve finally figured out how to keep them clean.

How to Clean a Flat Stove Top

First things first. In order to keep a flat-surfaced stove clean, you need to have the right tools:

A stove top cleaner. I’ve tried everything from baking soda paste to specially designed cooktop cleaners, but most methods take a TON of elbow grease. You basically have to scrub until your arms feels like it’s going to fall off. However, the absolute BEST product to keep your flat top stove looking new is Bar Keepers Friend. It’s cheap and it WORKS!

A scraper. I’ve mentioned a time or ten how my favorite cleaning tool is a nylon pan scraper. It can remove just about any sticky, dried up material from any surface; all without damaging the surface. That makes it the perfect tool for removing cooked on food from a stove top; especially the gook that doesn’t come up easily with your stove top cleaner.

To easily clean the cooktop:

Sprinkle Bar Keepers Friend on stove.

Use a wet cleaning cloth or paper towel and scrub in a circular motion. Pay special attention to areas with dried/burned on food.

Repeat if necessary. But you probably won’t have to. It’s that good! I should buy some stock in that company!

After you surface looks new again, wipe down the knobs, crevices, and every other messy spot until it looks great.

Now that your stove is clean, do you want to know the secret for keeping your flat stove top clean?

It’s simple, really. The key is consistency. You have to clean your stove top as soon as the hot surface indicator light turns off. And you have to clean it every-single-time you use it.

I know, I know. After slaving away and cooking a gourmet meal, the last thing you want to do is clean the kitchen, let alone wipe off the stove. It’s sooo tempting to ignore the mess…just for a little while. But after years of trial and error, I’ve learned that cleaning the stove immediately uses far less physical energy than waiting until the food dries.

If you want to be able to clean your stove with little effort and keep it looking new, put it on your cleaning schedule and clean it often. Plain and simple.

Of course, you could just not use the stove. That would definitely keep it clean!

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Comments

Awesome thanks! My flat top stove is white on top not black…big mistake when buying it so it shows everything and have to keep it clean! The baking soda paste is a great alternative when you don’t have the cleaner on hand!

I know my comment is late, I’ve been on vacation. I’ve found if I wipe the stove with a dish towel or wet dish rag as soon as a mess appears the stove cleans much easier. This often means lifting a hot pan or skillet and wiping a hot burner. If you move quickly you won’t get burned or even burn your rags/towels, and it really does help.